Lynne Kelleher
Originally published: Tue Dec 18 2024 - 02:30
Originally published by: Irish Independent - view the article here
This is the moment when surgeons from the International Medical Corps in Gaza carry out their first procedure in a special operating theatre donated by a new Irish charity.
The “hospitainer”, which is a fully equipped surgical unit in a specially adapted shipping container, was delivered to the IMC Field Hospital in central Gaza.
Doctors will now be able to carry out major trauma operations, skin grafts, limb reconstructions and amputations in the coming days and weeks.
Shane Leahy, the Irish director of One4Humanity, said the life-saving surgery was the beginning of a plan to deliver a major medical response to the critical situation in Gaza.
“When I saw the pictures of the surgeons operating in the container, it was very emotional to see it being used,” he said.
“It came after months of hard work from our team, headed up by Ross Kelly, to get this up and running and then to get through Gaza’s borders.
“We literally begged and borrowed to get this in. To know that it will be helping people going forward is amazing. This unit alone will facilitate about 300 operations a month.”
The laboratory unit will be vital in identifying various infections and, therefore, saving limbs and lives
Mr Kelly, the director of One4Humanity’s Gaza response, said he was delighted to finally see the unit operating.
“It was the donors who made this all possible and the team at International Medical Corps who moved heaven and earth to get this in,” he said.
“The team at One4Humanity are all volunteers, and we hope to do a lot more in 2025 to help the beleaguered people of Gaza and somewhat alleviate the immense suffering there.”
One4Humanity will deliver four more “hospitainers” to Gaza, where aid is desperately needed in the immediate future.
Each unit will conduct eight to 10 surgeries every day, and it is hoped that tens of thousands of euro worth of medicines will follow quickly across the border before Christmas.
Next year, the charity hopes to deliver hospital units for surgery, maternity care and a laboratory that will help doctors save lives by identifying infections in wounds.
“The doctors are diagnosing infections by the smell of the wounds, and the level of unjustifiable amputations is incredible because they don’t have the drugs, even when they do identity them. We’re looking at the sort of things that were happening in World War I at the moment in Gaza,” Mr Leahy said.
“The laboratory unit will be vital in identifying various infections and, therefore, saving limbs and lives.”
It initially responded to medical needs in Ukraine, where it has transported 16 hospital units to the front line
Mr Kelly spent months talking to multiple hospitals and organising logistics in a bid to figure out how to get medical aid into Gaza.
The first unit has been funded by private donors from the Entrepreneur of the Year community.
One4Humanity was set up 18 months ago by Limerick entrepreneur and former Munster rugby player Mr Leahy and risk-management consultant in humanitarian crises, Norman Sheehan.
It initially responded to medical needs in Ukraine, where it has transported 16 hospital units in containers to the front line along with $80m (€76m) in medical aid.
This has included operating theatres to treat and triage catastrophic explosion and burn injuries along with other urgent medical conditions.